Official Languages Committee on Nov. 20th, 2025

[Nikolay Slavkov]

That's a good question, but I'm not really able to answer it because it's about what's going on in our Prime Minister's mind. What people can do is adopt strategies and provide advice. People can insist on the use of French.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

We know that the Prime Minister's Office has been looking for a French teacher since September 2 because the Prime Minister no longer has access to a French teacher. If you know of one, maybe you can get in touch with the Prime Minister's Office.

Thank you, Mr. Slavkov.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

Mr. Beaulieu for a minute and a half.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Ms. Veronis, you said that francophone immigration could be a strategy to ensure the vitality of French outside Quebec. However, researchers who have testified here have shown that francophone immigrants are becoming anglicized or assimilated at least as quickly as francophones outside Quebec. The rate is very high.

The government is refusing to adopt an approach that would encourage francophone immigration to regions where French is more prevalent and where there are French schools.

What do you think of that strategy?

Wouldn't it be more effective to try to encourage, but not require, francophone immigration to areas where French is used more?

[Luisa Veronis]

Thank you for the question, which has a lot to do with geography. What you suggest may be a strategy, but it is not a guarantee at all.

My research shows that employment is the biggest barrier. We tell immigrants that we're looking for francophone immigrants, that we have francophone communities and that they can come and live here in French, but they can't find work in French. Employment opportunities in French are few. Just yesterday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, put on a webinar showing that being an immigrant and speaking only French actually leads to downward occupational mobility—demotion, essentially.

In my opinion, if we want francophone immigrants, we have to offer them jobs in French so they can work. The welcoming francophone communities initiative can offer inspiration.

This is something that takes a lot of work. You can't just snap your fingers and create jobs in French. Such jobs are often found in francophone institutions that contribute to the institutional completeness of communities, but there aren't that many of them.

We need to look at how we can offer more jobs in French. We can approach francophone employers, but they can be in-group environments. For example, a lot of construction businesses are family enterprises that are taken over by the owner's children.

If jobs are not available in French, the risk of assimilation is greater.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Ms. Veronis, I'm sorry, but time is up.

Thank you very much, Mr. Beaulieu.

I give the floor to Mr. Deschênes‑Thériault for six minutes.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Veronis, I'm very pleased that we have you here today as a witness.

You are an expert in francophone immigration. You hold the Research Chair in Immigration and Franco-Ontarian Communities, and you've followed the francophone immigration file for a long time.

There have been significant investments in this area in recent years. However, we've had a period of stagnation. In 2013, there was only $30 million in investment over five years. In 2018, that went up to $84 million.

In 2023, though, investments reached $220 million. That means those investments were recognized as a priority for ensuring the vitality of communities. That has made it possible to implement initiatives such as the welcoming francophone communities initiative, which you mentioned.

Can you explain to me the importance of those initiatives in ensuring the success of Canada's francophone immigration?

[Luisa Veronis]

Thank you for the question. It's a very important one.

It took a long time, some 20 years, and a lot of investment to finally get there. I would say we're there now. Francophone communities are much less invisible than they were 10 years ago. I did a study at the time, and immigrants were talking to me about it.

There have been huge investments, and I believe they're now paying off. We've gotten there, but we still have to attract 10% of francophone immigrants. That's what we're aiming for. We have to make sure that French is used and present. That's clear from the outside as well. The Prime Minister talks about it.

The current challenge is to recruit enough francophone immigrants to meet our targets. The most important thing is to avoid hypocrisy or utilitarianism when it comes to francophone immigration. The government has to make investments and show that it's unequivocally committed to providing job opportunities in French.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

How has the welcoming francophone communities initiative increased the visibility of the francophone community in some of the funded communities?

We've seen all kinds of great projects implemented.

Can you talk a bit about the impact of this initiative?

[Luisa Veronis]

I don't know them all in detail. To answer Ms. Chenette's question about what can be done, I'd say that the kiosk that was set up at Pearson International Airport and the welcoming francophone communities initiative have been very successful. I think Hawkesbury, not far from here, is a good example of that. That enabled us to target the specific needs of communities, based on the regional or territorial factors that affect them.

Each community can target its needs to enable francophone immigrants to succeed and thrive. Each community can decide what program it needs, and that's what makes this initiative so successful.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Ms. Veronis.

I'll yield the rest of my time to Mr. Villeneuve.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you.

I'd like to thank the three witnesses for being here. I'm going to ask just one question. They can share the time they have left to answer.

Liberals and Conservatives have been trading power back and forth for decades. I'm old enough now to say that the challenges we face in terms of official languages are nothing new. Our job in committee is to work together to improve things.

If you had a magic wand, what changes would you make to the federal government to ensure substantive equality between the two official languages?

[Nicole Gagnon]

I'm going to go back to what Ms. Veronis was saying about immigration to the country.

In a press conference this week, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship was talking about the immigrant retention rate. Canada invests a lot in immigration, but little, if any, attention is paid to whether new Canadians stay in the country. It sounds like that isn't necessarily the case.

There are some pretty extensive statistics, which I can't quote out of context, but you can refer to the report entitled “Leaky Bucket”.

It's noted that people who do an onward migration usually do so not because they're making too little money in Canada, but because they don't feel a sense of belonging to Canada.

If a francophone immigrant can't live in French in Canada, they can't put down roots to live here. They don't feel welcome, so they go elsewhere.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Excuse me, Ms. Gagnon, I don't want to interrupt you, but time is running out.

What would you do first to improve things?

[Nicole Gagnon]

My goodness, that's quite a question.

I might go back to the past. For departments and Parliament, everything at the time had to go through the Secretary of State. Over the years, that obligation has dwindled away. It's no longer mandatory to go through the translation bureau. Government departments and agencies have been abandoned. They're trying to make do with what they have, then, and quality is being sacrificed as a result.

Now, parliamentarians even seem to be abandoning French and the quality of French. That's the subject of your study, and it's the crux of my remarks.

If we can live in French, speak high-quality French and have the right to high-quality interpretation services, we can ensure Canadian prosperity.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve.

That concludes the first panel. I want to thank Ms. Veronis, Mr. Slavkov and Ms. Gagnon for being with us.

I will suspend the meeting so that we can welcome the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Welcome back to meeting number 11 of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. We're continuing our study on the use of French in government communications and in federal institutions.

I would now like to welcome the witnesses for the second hour. We have Geneviève Tellier, full professor, who is appearing as an individual. From the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, we also have Simon Thériault, president, and Josée Vaillancourt, executive director.

Each organization will have five minutes to share their opening remarks. That will be followed by a round of questions and answers with the committee members.

Ms. Tellier, you have five minutes.

[Geneviève Tellier, Full Professor, As an Individual]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the Standing Committee on Official Languages for inviting me to testify as part of its study on the use of French in government communications and in federal institutions. I had the opportunity to testify before the committee in March 2024, during the study on language obligations related to the process of staffing or making appointments to key positions. One of the topics discussed at the time was leadership and the importance of senior officials setting an example. I note that this theme is reappearing in the committee's work.

The event that led your committee to undertake this study on the use of French in government communications was the release of the results of a compilation by Radio-Canada on the Prime Minister's use of French in his speeches. That compilation was made public on October 9. It revealed that the Prime Minister spoke French only 17% of the time, which isn't very much.

I think that rate of 17% raises a number of questions that could be grouped into three broad categories. First, what are the causes of this situation? Second, what are the consequences? Third, what could be the solutions to remedy this situation?

If I had to answer those questions in under a minute, I'd say that language issues are still highly politicized in Canada. Politicians are courting the French-speaking electorate, rather than serving French-speaking communities. What's more, even today, certain topics are considered to be more appropriate for French-speaking populations than others. The opposite is also true. Some topics are discussed less in French than in English. That means that there's an imbalance, not only in form—the Prime Minister's speaking time in this case—but also in the content of what's communicated to the public.

Finally, it's time for an independent agent to be able to conduct in-depth independent studies to document the language situation in Canada. It's impossible to regulate someone's speaking time. However, it's certainly possible to document it, as the CBC has done. The work has to continue, though. For that reason, I would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have on these topics and any other issues they deem relevant.

Thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Ms. Tellier.

I will now give the floor to Mr. Thériault for five minutes.

[Simon Thériault, President, Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française]

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to appear.

The Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, or FJCF, is a national organization managed by and for young people. It is made up of 12 member associations and operates with a governing body made up entirely of young elected officials who represent the interests of young people across the country.

For 50 years now, the FJCF has been offering support and training, as well as the opportunity to participate in major initiatives, including the Jeux de la francophonie canadienne. We manage a number of programs that promote youth employability, including the DépasseToi program, Young Canada Works and Apic.

Finally, we provide opportunities for young people to think about the future of the country and take part, in a non-partisan way, in efforts to learn about public policy in Canada.

Let me emphasize that, from our perspective, this isn't about a decline in French but a wind of change. This is a wind that has been blowing in our communities for a number of years now, and it means that our communities are becoming more and more diverse. That diversity can be heard in the many accents that resonate in French across Canada. That change ensures that French in Canada is increasingly rich and varied. That wind of change has breathed promising new life into our language.

French in Canada is also fragile. For years, we've been counting on access to education to strengthen the French fact, support the development and vitality of communities, and encourage bilingualism. As you know, that means that schools, colleges, child care centres and universities that provide French-language education are essential institutions.

Unfortunately, access to post-secondary education in French remains quite a challenge. The cost of education, the costs of moving to pursue studies, the fact that some programs are unavailable in our communities and the burden of student debt are some of the biggest barriers to accessing the education continuum today. As you may already know, student debt is actually higher among those who choose to study in French at the post-secondary level, particularly because of the need to move to study in French.

Access to the labour market is proving to be more difficult than it used to be. When people can't find jobs in French in their field, some turn to bilingual jobs or to the English-language labour market. For that reason, youth employability is directly linked to the sustainability of our communities.

To delve deeper into some of the issues you're studying, particularly the use of French by Canadian government parliamentarians, at the risk of surprising you, neither young people nor the organizations that bring us together spend their time counting the number of words or minutes spoken in French in speeches by the Prime Minister, party leaders or any other government representative.

We have rights, and we fight every day to assert and defend them. We also have expectations and hopes for our leaders. Political leaders, and particularly the Prime Minister, have important roles to play. They're flag bearers for the country, role models, as far as we're concerned. That's why our leaders have to be champions of the country's two official languages. That doesn't mean that we'll police the French language in Canada and that we'll try to criticize or correct their use of French. We know how much using French can make people feel vulnerable. We feel it ourselves. In fact, we documented it in the national strategy for linguistic security, a strategy that aims to strengthen the sense of belonging, confidence and linguistic resilience across Canada.

To live up to our expectations, it also isn't enough for our elected officials to start their speeches with “Bonjour” and end them with “Merci beaucoup”. If we feel that French is nothing but an afterthought and that leaders aren't recognizing our communities, our realities and our challenges, we'll take that into account when it's time to go to the polls. Where there's a serious, sustained and sincere effort, French-speaking youth will always be grateful.

For French-speaking youth, French isn't a private club. We share a language and a pride that we celebrate with many accents. We aspire to have parliamentarians who will share and embody our pride. We're counting on them, and we're counting on you.

Thank you for welcoming us and for listening. We'll be happy to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Mr. Thériault.

We will now move on to the question period.

Before giving the floor to Mr. Godin, I want to tell my colleagues that we have 45 minutes left before the end of the meeting. If I'm strict enough on time, we can complete the two rounds of questions without any changes. I'm going to try to be stricter than usual to make sure we stay on schedule. Is that okay? Okay.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Ms. Tellier, Mr. Thériault and Ms. Vaillancourt. Thank you for being here, to reiterate what you said in your opening remarks, Mr. Thériault.

My first question is for you, Ms. Tellier. Like us, you saw the Radio-Canada article, and you were even quoted in it. You said, “It would take a strong message from above. At 17%, we don't really feel like we're getting a strong message.”

There's a big gap between 17% and 50%. You and I agree that we're not asking for people to speak 50% of the time in French and 50% in English. Now, Ms. Tellier, since I saw you on television, I'd like you to tell us what percentage of the Prime Minister's speeches should be in French to show his willingness and intention to promote and showcase French, even though it's not his mother tongue. The percentage should be much higher.

[Geneviève Tellier]

That's a good question. Thank you.

My inclination would be to say, first of all, that 50% would be fine with me.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!